First signs of an opposition rainbow coalition for bypoll
The Opposition has joined hands in the most critical state of Uttar Pradesh with the Congress on Wednesday extending its support to a joint candidate fielded by the Samajwadi Party, the Rashtriya Lok Dal and the Bahujan Samaj Party in the Kairana Lok Sabha by-election.
The development quashes speculation that the Congress will be kept out of the grand alliance in Uttar Pradesh after the SP-BSP experience in Phulpur and Gorakhpur by-elections.
In Phulpur and Gorakhpur, the Congress had not only contested separately but forfeited its deposit, deepening the impression that the SPBSP alliance didn’t need any further prop.
A senior Congress leader said there was complete understanding even in those byelections but the SP and BSP finalised the deal very late and so the Congress did not pull out its candidates.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi is in constant touch with SP president Akhilesh Yadav and RLD's Jayant Chowdhary while his mother Sonia has a personal rapport with BSP supremo Mayawati.
No wonder, therefore, that the BSP's alliance with JD-S in Karnataka didn't provoke the Congress to attack Mayawati, even as Rahul openly accused former Prime Minister H D Deve Gowda of working to help the BJP.
Kairana has a special significance for the BJP because the by-election was caused by the death of its towering leader Hukum Singh, whose daughter Mriganka is now fighting to retain the seat. Her defeat, third in a row for the BJP, would be seen as a reversal of the BJP's clean sweep in the 2014 elections.
After Phulpur and Gorakhpur, Kairana is seen as a test case for the sustainability of the alliance as internal contradictions are far more complex in the western part of the state. But the choice of candidate demonstrates exceptional politico-cultural assimilation and the unwavering resolve of the leaders to stay together.
The candidate – Tabassum Hassan, who won Kairana Lok Sabha in 2009 for the BSP -- is currently a member of the SP but is contesting on an RLD ticket.
She joined the RLD only on May 7, after Akhilesh Yadav and Jayant Chowdhary cleared the deal. A public meeting addressed by her after filing nomination papers on Wednesday saw presence of the workers of SP, BSP, RLD and Congress.
The candidate – Tabassum Hassan, who won Kairana Lok Sabha in 2009 for the BSP – is currently a member of the SP but is contesting on an RLD ticket
There was speculation about Jayant, son of former union minister Ajit Singh, contesting the seat but the selection of candidate was dictated by the exigencies of coalition politics. While Tabassum had links with the BSP, the challenge was to ensure Jats voted for her and that’s why the RLD symbol.
Tabassum is wife of former Samajwadi MP Munnawar Hasan. Their son Nahid Hasan is an SP legislator. It is unique in that sense: A candidate so entwined with the SP and the BSP is contesting on the RLD symbol. After the 2013 riots in Muzaffarnagar, the social fabric of this region was in tatters. This is also an attempt to bring the dominant Jats together with Muslims and Dalits on a single platform -- a traditional rainbow coalition of social groups the region was known for.